Reviews of productions based in Toronto – theatre includes traditional definitions of theatre, as well as dance, opera, comedy, performance art, spoken word performances, and more. Productions may be in-person, or remote productions streamed online on the Internet.
Beautiful double bill tells powerful stories that have audiences both laughing and in tears
What is the price of safety? What must you leave behind forever in transit to a new life? Theatre Passe Muraille, in collaboration with Theatre Mada, raises these questions in Suitcase/Adrenaline, a timely double bill of one-act plays by Ahmad Meree, on the multilayered experiences of Syrian refugees.
Presented in Arabic with English surtitles (with some in-ear described performances available), the program invites us to meet these characters on their own terms.
The Trip to Bountiful is a touching tale of one woman’s devotion to her roots
Written by Horton Foote, The Trip to Bountiful at Toronto’s Alumnae Theatre evokes differences between city life and country life and between the needs of the elderly and the younger generation. But the heart of the story goes much deeper than that as it expresses one woman’s unshakable longing for her roots.
Mama Watts (Jane Hunter) is an elderly woman who’s cooped up in a Houston, Texas apartment at a busy street corner. She’s living with her son Ludie (Jamie Johnson) and daughter-in-law Jessie Mae (Kim Croscup). Mama Watts yearns to return to her hometown Bountiful (also called a “swamp” by Jessie Mae) and this desire is all-encompassing. She hasn’t been home for 30 years.
This play checks all the boxes for me: the writing is tight and Hennig weaves an interesting and engaging story with these characters from the Tudor era. The performances are great across the board and the technical aspects and set design are certainly impressive. It’s a great show, and I do recommend it. Continue reading Review: Mother’s Daughter (Soulpepper)→
It may be cold out, but Theatre Rusticle’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream is here to heat you up
Theatre Rusticle has given new life to Shakespeare’s fantastical comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Their production, now on at Buddies in Bad Times, feels like an antidote for sorrows of the soul. It’s like a burst of summer love in the dead of winter.
It’s breathtakingly dreamy, intensely physical, and unrelentingly playful.
Written by Horton Foote, 
The daring third installment of the Queenmaker series explores the rise of Bloody Mary
